Sweet On St. Patrick’s Day: 11 Themed Desserts and Cocktails

The Irish have a saying: “What butter and whiskey won’t cure, there is no cure for.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

It’s in the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day feasting and revelry that we’ve rounded up 11 simply adorable dessert and cocktail recipes from the food blogiverse to pair with the rest of your March 17 menu. You’ll have to check out the slideshow to see all of them, but we’ve got three words to tempt you: Lucky Charms martini.

So who needs crumbly Irish soda bread? We’ll happy trade ours for a cocktail that involves colorful marshmallows — not to mention the rest of these too-cute treats. Sláinte!

Courtesy Carrie Sellman for TheCakeBlog.com

LEPRECHAUN HAT S'MORES

These chocolate leprechaun hat s’mores from Carrie Sellman, founder of The Cake Blog, are “easy enough for little leprechauns to help you make, if you don’t mind gooey hands,” she writes. Simply cover a cookie in chocolate (the trick: smooth the top with a toothpick for that even surface) and attach chocolate-covered marshmallows to make the hat shape.

When creating this creamy, minty martini, blogger Elizabeth Trovato of Elizabethdoodah turned to her childhood for inspiration. “When I was a kid I used to pick the marshmallows out of the Lucky Charms cereal box and eat them. Later, my mom would unknowingly pour herself a bowl only to find there were no marshmallows … I am still picking all of the marshmallows out of the box!” she tells PEOPLE. She also spilled her secret for getting the novelty ‘mallows to stick to the glass so neatly: She coats the rim with a thin layer of agave syrup (corn syrup or honey will work as well). “I can’t stress enough how sparingly you want to apply the syrup—you want to use the tiniest amount or your marshmallows will drip down your glass,” she says.

Confession: We were intimidated when we first looked at these adorable mini rainbow doughnuts from Liz Latham of Hoosier Homemade. Then we checked the recipe and realized that along with food coloring they only required four basic ingredients (you’ve probably got them in your pantry) and can be prepped and baked in about 20 minutes. On her blog, Latham suggests dipping them in icing made from powdered sugar, milk and vanilla.

If you’re looking for a healthy-but-tasty alternative to Guinness or whiskey, check out this festive green smoothie from holistic nutritionist Leanne Vogel of the blog Healthful Pursuit. “This isn’t your average ‘pinch your nose to scarf it down’ health cocktail. This delectable drink tastes just like the key lime pie you know and love, meringue topping, graham crackers, and all, only it has no sugar, dairy or gluten,” Vogel tells PEOPLE.

Here’s why we’re fans of Kristan Roland from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen: That pot of gold you’re looking at is actually a doughnut hole that’s been dipped in dark chocolate. The gold? Yellow M&Ms. It looks impressive, yet is totally doable. As Roland tells PEOPLE, “I love that although these cupcakes only take a few ordinary ingredients to throw together, they look like a ton of skill was involved. This is one of those treats that anyone can pull off!”

Kara Lewis of The Joys of Boys created this assortment of colorful fruit to represent one of St. Patrick’s Day’s most beloved symbols. “Getting my boys to eat healthy is a never-ending challenge. One thing I have found is that they are more likely to eat their fruits and vegetables if I present them in a creative way,” Lewis tells PEOPLE. She used marshmallows as the cloud and Rolo caramels to stand in for the gold. “I’ve even seen little black pots at party stores that would make it look even more like a pot of gold,” she writes on her blog.

Diane Schmidt of Created by Diane had a simple but ingenious idea to create these adorable. clover shaped treats: She first used a lift-and-serve pan to make individual heart-shaped cheesecake bites, then she assembled four together in a shamrock shape and added a drizzle of chocolate for the stem. If you can’t find a nifty pan like hers, you can try a flexible silicone mold pan or simply bake a flat cheesecake and use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to score it.

We couldn’t figure out why were so obsessed with Devi McDonald’s sweet little leprechauns, which we spotted on her blog, Diddles and Dumplings. Then we realized it was in part because they reminded us of the Fisher Price Little People toys we used to love. (Are we right or are we right?) They’re a cake ball base covered meticulously in melted white chocolate dyed peach, orange and more.

If you have the patience, McDonald has some tips: First, it’s important to be mindful of the consistency as you’re mixing the baked cake with the frosting to make the balls. “Start by adding less frosting and slowly adding in more until you get your desired consistency. You want it to be moldable but not gooey, since gooey cake can lead to cake pops falling off sticks and can cause the chocolate to crack,” she tells PEOPLE. McDonald also uses coffee mugs to keep her tinted chocolate mixtures separate as she works. “If the chocolate gets thick or hardens you can always pop the mug into the microwave for a few seconds to melt it,” she says.

“I made these with my mom as a little girl and thought it would be fun to carry on the tradition. My mom always went all out for Saint Patrick’s Day. Everything was magically GREEN!” writes Jamielyn Nye on her blog, I Heart Naptime. If you’re not so into the idea of using artificial food coloring, Nye suggests checking Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods for a natural alternative such as Chefmaster, India Tree or Nature’s Flavors.

Are you so busy that you don’t even have one extra minute to devote to St. Patrick’s Day silliness? We promise you can still own the holiday with this sweet idea from Meaghan Mountford of The Decorated Cookie. “Marshmallows are the perfect canvas for edible art—they are easy to decorate, inexpensive, accessible, and best of all, you can put them on a stick,” she tells PEOPLE. Another thing we love about this idea? If you’re doing it with kids, even younger ones will be able to make their own treats with minimal help, so you can kick back and enjoy a well-deserved cocktail.

This gorgeously girly Champagne-Midori cocktail was dreamed up by Taryn Fiol of the blog Formal Fringe as an alternative to the usual St. Pat’s brews. “Although green beer has always been the drink of choice for the suddenly Irish on March 17, I think it’s time we class it up a bit,” she writes. Why this particular combo? “Champagne is one of the best ways to celebrate any holiday, but to give an ordinary glass of bubbly some Irish spirit, I spiked it with a generous splash of Midori,” she tells PEOPLE. The honeydew shamrock garnish adds a festive touch while echoing the drink’s melon flavor.